WHY “THE PASSION”?

Genesis 3:15
Bob Bonner
April 11, 2004

Putting aside all its reviews and blockbuster moneymaking accomplishments, Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ is one of the most powerful movies I have ever watched. However it’s not something I would recommend that everyone see. I would especially caution those with weak stomachs or sensitive souls not to see it. Its value may not be worth the disruption it could cause your heart.

Halfway through the movie as I witnessed with the rest of the audience Jesus being brutally tortured, my thoughts were screaming, “Someone please stop them from beating him. Quit it, quit it. Please, leave Him alone!” This gruesome portrayal of Christ’s death was not over done, but rather an historically accurate report of what He experienced. The main difference between the actual event and the movie is that the movie was only two hours long whereas Jesus’ excruciating beatings and floggings lasted somewhere between nine and twelve hours.

When I exited the theater following the movie, my soul was numb for the next twenty-four hours. Not being used to watching such horror, I was forced for several days afterward to evaluate the incredible extent to which God was moved to redeem and rescue each of us who have ignored and or rebelled against Him.

Mel Gibson’s purpose in producing the movie was to reveal in terms that no one could deny the evil of the human race and the passionate length to which God has gone to reach out to us to forgive us. It was not the intent of the movie to reveal so much the hope we have in Christ, as it was to show what history cannot deny...an innocent man’s unjust execution—an execution that He could have stopped at any moment.

Only in the last few seconds of the movie were we given a brief glimpse of the purpose and glory behind Christ’s death. We briefly see an empty tomb, a risen Savior with nail-pierced hands. Again, it was not the intent of this movie to explain the resurrection nor the incredible plan of God that through both the crucifixion and resurrection God would give hope to the world; that yes, we can know God intimately and personally again. We can spend eternity with such a One who forgives, is gentle and loves us. This same Christ is also the powerful resurrecting Savior who can transform one’s life.

But why did this horrible crucifixion have to happen? When did this plan for such a brutal display get birthed? That’s what we want to understand this day. We are going to see God’s first explanation of an eternal plan to rescue us from our rebellion against God. We are going to see in Genesis 3:15 that this plan was laid out for us in the Garden of Eden. This Easter Sunday in our study of Genesis 3 we will see God’s first prophetic statement that points to the battle and the victory over the forces of evil and darkness. A prophecy that not only points to the cross, but also to the resurrection of Christ.

In our previous study of Genesis 3:1-13 we looked at some of the consequences of Adam and Eve’s choice to eat the forbidden fruit. Beginning with verse 14 through verse 19, God pronounces six curses against the serpent, Eve, and then Adam. Each respectively receive two curses. Today we want to examine the two curses against the serpent found in verses 14-15. We read these words, “And the Lord God said to the serpent, ‘Because you have done this, cursed are you more than all cattle, and more than every beast of the field; on your belly shall you go, and dust shall you eat all the days of your life; and I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, and you shall bruise him on the heel.’”

The first curse directed at Satan, found in verse 14, is a curse of humiliation. We will look more at this curse in the future. Basically it teaches us that figuratively he will crawl and eat dirt, which to the Hebrews was the lowest shameful humbling position of all. This is a huge step downward for Satan who was once the most glorious angel of God.

The second curse is the curse we want to focus on this morning. It is the curse of ultimate defeat for the serpent, Satan.

But in the midst of this curse, note that we find an incredible promise of hope. Theologians call it “protevangelism”; in other words, it is the first time that the gospel or Good News is promised. In these verses of curses, we find God’s ultimate promised plan for a Rescuer and Redeemer to bring victory over evil and deliverance to rebels like Adam and Eve. It obviously entails far more than a trivial reference to a physical enmity between men and snakes. This prophecy looks forward to the time when Satan will be completely crushed beneath the feet of Eve’s triumphant Seed, Jesus Christ.

In verse 15 we not only have a promise of hope, but also a prophecy of perpetual conflict between the “seed of the serpent” and the “seed of the woman.” This perpetual conflict involves more than just Satan’s ongoing tempting and deceiving men and women. It refers to more than Satan being our adversary. To understand the conflict highlighted here and who is involved in this conflict, one must understand the word “seed” and how it is being used in this verse.

Although this term “seed” typically has the biological meaning of physical human semen, it cannot be used that way here. Neither Satan, who is spirit, nor the woman would be able to produce actual human seed; only a human male can create or physically produce human semen. These two seeds, therefore, must refer primarily to spiritual progeny or spiritual beings.

In addition, this word “seed”, like our word “fish” and “sheep” can mean either one fish, one sheep, one seed, or it can refer to many fish, sheep or seeds. In other words, this word is used in a singular and plural sense, determined by the context. As we study these verses, I believe this word is meant to be used in both its singular and plural sense, simultaneously.

As a result of this dual usage of the term seed, we note that this curse refers to two entirely different conflicts taking place simultaneously. One conflict includes the meaning of “seed” in a plural sense; the other conflict uses the word “seed” in a singular sense.

In the plural sense of the word “seed” or “seeds” points to a conflict taking place between two classes of people. One class of people is the “seed of the Devil” and the other is “the seed of the woman.” The “seed of the Devil” group is the non-believers, those who refuse to put their trust in God but would rather live their lives independent from Him. They oppose God’s purposes. Jesus points to these people in John 8:44 when He tells the religious Pharisees that their spiritual father is the Devil. The first human clearly placed in this class of people is revealed in the next chapter of Genesis, Cain, who kills his brother Abel.

The second class of people, the “seed of the woman” refers to those who worship God and put their confidence completely in Him. These are those in the human family who are brought into right relationship with God through faith in Jesus Christ, the promised Redeemer. Jesus speaks about this class of people in Matthew 13:37-40; the apostle John refers to them in 1 John 3:8-12. In the next chapter of Genesis, Abel stands in contrast to Cain, as a “seed of the woman.” In Galatians 4:28-29 we read of how the children of the flesh, those of the seed of Satan, persecute “the children of promise.” The world hates the truth about God and seeks to ridicule it and to stamp it out. We ban the Bible in schools, refuse to allow the Ten Commandments to remain in courts and throughout our world we execute Christians for simply being Christians.

This unending enmity between believers and non-believers will only grow more intense and fierce as this world comes closer to its end.

But when the term “seed” is taken in its singular sense, its meaning now points to a conflict between two individuals. This conflict is the primary conflict pointed to in this verse. We know that this is the primary conflict because in the verses the pronouns “He” and “Him”, whose antecedent is “seed” are in the singular. They point to a person, not persons.

What’s really interesting about the phrase, “the seed of the woman” is that this is a very unique statement. Nowhere in Scripture does one ever find the “seed of a woman” being used because it is always the seed of a man that produces a child. Women don’t carry “seeds.” This unique expression points to the virgin birth whose “Seed”, Jesus Christ, will be supernaturally placed in the virgin Mary by God.

But Satan has his seed too. His seed is called by several different names: the “beast”; the “son of perdition”; and “the antichrist.” The ultimate conflict pointed to here is between Satan and Jesus Christ. The outcome of this ultimate conflict is prophesied in this verse. I call it a preview of history to come.

If you look at the last half of verse 15 you will see what takes place first, “You shall bruise him on the heel” is Satan’s direct attack and apparent victory over Christ. This “bruising” or attacks against Jesus not only included His crucifixion or what Mel Gibson calls “The Passion of Christ,” but it also included the humiliation of Jesus’ birth, the darkness of Gethsemane, the opposition of Jerusalem, and the hatred and rejection of Judas, Pilate, Caiaphas and Annas. All of that was the bruising of the heel.

In Isaiah 53:5 we read this prophecy, written 500 years before Christ’s birth, about His torture at the hands of the Romans and Pharisees, about this bruising that took place after Christ’s arrest in the garden: “But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, and by His scourging we are healed.”

Satan thought he had won the conflict when Christ died on the cross, but Christ rose again, and the first part of verse 15 tells us the rest of the story, the ultimate outcome of the conflict, the actual victory of the Savior. Christ crushing Satan’s head is a reference to a fatal blow to Satan and Christ’s ultimate victory over him.

In addition to defeating Satan, Christ’s very dying, as Isaiah prophesied, also satisfied the just requirements of God’s holiness over man’s sin. Jesus died for the sin of Adam and Eve and therefore also for the sin of all who were “in Adam” (that’s all of us) and who put their confidence in Christ’s death for them. 1 Corinthians 15:22 tells us, “For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.”

In Revelation 19:20 we read about the ultimate destruction of Satan’s seed, the antichrist. In Revelation 20:10 we read of Christ’s ultimate and final victory and destruction of Satan. In the meantime, until Jesus comes again and establishes His kingdom on earth, we will still be in conflict with Satan as we reach out to others with the Good News of Christ and His being their sole hope for salvation.

One last note of interest before we summarize the importance of some of the facts we have just seen. In Romans 16:19-20 we read what is ahead for those who put their trust in Christ as it relates to us and Satan. Paul is writing to Christians who have shown the proof of their faith by their obedience to the Lord. We read, “For the report of your obedience has reached to all; therefore I am rejoicing over you, but I want you to be wise in what is good, and innocent in what is evil. And the God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet.” This is the final bruising of Satan’s head, to be accomplished not only by Christ but for those that are “in Christ.” Somehow we who have put our trust in Christ get to take part in permanently putting away our enemy, our adversary, Satan.

Now let’s summarize some of the key points of this passage and highlight their importance.

First notice that even before God pronounces His curse against the man and the woman, there is this curse against Satan in which lies a promise for the man and woman. It is a promise of God’s victory over Satan, their enemy and God’s promise of a Redeemer for man and woman. Pay close attention to when this promise was made. This promise was delivered soon after Adam and Eve’s sin and before His curse was pronounced against them. And even more importantly, this promise of a victorious Savior came before Adam and Eve were forced to leave the garden.

In other words God did not send them away rejected with no sense of possible recovery. They weren’t thrown out like a garbage bag of trash by a wrathful angry parent who never wanted to see his rebellious kids again. Instead, as we will see, God not only declares the sure penalty of death, but He also made sure that before they were banished from the Garden they knew they were loved by God. He first reveals His compassion toward them here in verse 15, in His promise that through them will be birthed their savior. Then in verse 21 He provides the sacrificial skins of animals to symbolically cover their sins. All of this was promised before they left the garden. These were signs of His commitment and love toward them and all of those who would follow them. It is a bold statement that sinners need not be permanently rejected by Him. He wanted them to know that He had provided a way back for them to be reconciled with God. There was hope for their future, in spite of their wrong doing. This is an illustration of the truth declared in Romans 5:20, “where sin abounded, grace did much more abound.”

This was God’s plan, “The Passion of Christ”, declared long ago. Christ would be bruised by Satan on the cross, but His bruising was not terminal. He would rise from the dead and thus permanently crush Satan’s head and thus Christ would earn the right to be the Savior of all who would trust Him.

A second important point not to go unnoticed is God’s grace is seen in His working through fallen Eve to produce a Savior. We see in verse 15 that Jesus Christ is called the “seed of the woman.” There is no mention of Adam in this verse at all. It was Eve who fell before the deception of Satan, and God has designed that the woman who led to the Fall should also be the one to bring forth the Redeemer. By woman had come sin, and by woman should come the Savior. By woman had come the curse, and by woman should come the One who would remove the curse. This is grace exemplified: “where sin abounded, grace did much more abound.” Woman is still deeply loved and honored by God. She is not thought of as lower in value than man because of her role in the Fall. She is raised up to equal approval and acceptance by God.

Thirdly, Jesus saw the plight of the human race long before He came to earth as the son of Mary. And yet he chose willingly to leave heaven in order to become our victorious “seed.” He knew before He ever left heaven the passion He would suffer and the power that would raise Him from the dead. Note that different from the emphasis of “The Passion of Christ”, Jesus didn’t come just to die, but to be resurrected in victory over death, Satan and sin. His goal was not just to die for sin and to forgive or be a model of forgiveness, but to pass on a resurrected, transformed life to all those who put their confidence in Him.

Lastly, when Jesus came the first time it seemed to be a victory for Satan, but it wasn’t. Satan loses in the end, but he is not yet done for. Satan’s head being crushed is still future. It is prophesied in Genesis 3 and fulfilled in Revelation 20. After the thousand year reign of Christ on earth, Satan will be thrown into hell forever. Then, all of creation will see the truth, Jesus wins!

In the meantime, the conflict rages between Satan’s forces and Christ’s followers on earth. It will be a long hard-fought battle till the end. The non-Christians will continue to persecute the Christians. We will be bruised, hurt and lied to by the enemy. But through it all, Jesus, our risen Savior, makes us this promise: “I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you,” so that we confidently say, “The Lord is my helper, I will not be afraid. What shall man do to me?” [Hebrews 13:5]

When we stand back and look at history thus far we see Genesis 3:15, the curse against Satan, with its promise for the human race worked out in Romans 5:6-8, which reads, “For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”

Do you know of anything more encouraging than that? The God we serve is the One who continually takes the worst that Satan has to throw at us and turns it around to His own glorious victory by offering us hope and a new beginning. To enjoy that new beginning, each person must individually admit to God his/her own need for forgiveness; his/her own desire to walk with God, in submission to His leading. Have you done that?

It’s one thing to enjoy that new beginning, but have you begun to experience His transforming work in your life? That only comes as you by faith commit daily to abide in Christ; to trust in Jesus living His life out through you, calling upon Him moment by moment. If you want to learn more about how to improve your walk with Christ, we at Crossroads can help by getting you involved in a small group where you can receive answers to your questions and encouragement in your walk. Just give us a call.

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